FORMULA ONE is BACK with testing underway in Barcelona.
All the teams have the opportunity to put their vehicles through their paces in Catalunya and Lewis Hamilton is keen to get on with the season underway, before renewing his rivalry with world champ Max Verstappen.
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Stay up to date with all the updates from F1 testing in our live blog…
Top ten (timing update)
1) Charles Leclerc – 1m20.165
2) Lando Norris – 1.20.474
3) George Russell – 1.20.784
4) Lewis Hamilton – 1.21.032
5) Sebastian Vettel – 1.21.276
6) Yuki Tsunoda – 1.21.638
7) Carlos Sainz – 1.22.134
8) Max Verstappen – 1.22.246
9) Alex Albon -1.22.938 C3
10) Fernando Alonso – 1.23.317
Norris stops in pit-lane
The Brit’s strong start came to halt as he was wheeled back to his garage after stopping at the end of the pit-lane.
Timing update:
1) Charles Leclerc – 1.20.165
2) Lando Norris – 1.20.474
3) George Russell – 1.20.784
4) Sebastian Vettel – 1.21.276
5) Yuki Tsunoda – 1.21.638
6) Max Verstappen – 1.22.246
7) Carlos Sainz – 1.22.516
8) Fernando Alonso – 1.23.317, C3
9) Nicholas Latifi – 1.23.379
10) Lewis Hamilton – 1.23.382
Cars return on track…
The afternoon session is underway but most of the cars have stayed in their garage.
In recent years it’s known teams like to stick around the paddock for a long lunch….
Verstappen is back out on track while Valterri Bottas is getting the first feel of his Alfa Romeo.
Clocking up the miles
Verstappen, Russell and Leclerc have spent the most time on track this morning in Barcelona.
Verstappen with 80, Leclerc with 77 and Russell just crossing the line to complete his 76th lap of the day for Mercedes.
Norris up to second
The Brit is finding his groove with the new McLaren as he’s second behind Charles Leclerc.
Norris trails Leclerc by two tenths as the young guns are looking to steal the show.
Kubica finally sets a time
Kubica has set his first representative lap time of 1:25.909.
The Alfa Romeo is now nine laps in and his time has relegated the Haas of Nikita Mazepin to the bottom of the standings.
20 minute countdown
Charles Leclerc is still top of the time sheets for Ferarri.
Lando Norris has moved up to third fastest behind fellow Brit George Russell.
1) Leclerc – 1:20:165
2) Russell – 1:20:784
3) Norris – 1:21:713
4) Vettel – 1:21:276
5) Tsunoda – 1:21:368Latifi leads the way
Nicholas Latifi is first out for Williams as he exits in the pits having already done 47 laps.
Williams’ new-boy Alex Albon will step foot in the car in the afternoon session.
LECLERC REGAINS TOP SPOT
Leclerc returns to the top of the timesheet with a 1:20:165.
The Ferrari has now clocked up over 50 laps and is looking in good nick.
George Russell slips down to second fastest but improves with a 1:20:784.
Verstappen has done ten more laps than his Mercedes rival Russell with 65 under his belt.
LIMITED TIME FOR ALFA ROMEO
The Camouflaged car hasn’t been able to do much hiding out on track, as Kubica has only managed four laps.
Is it a worrying sign for the Italian team?
RUSSELL IS FASTEST
The Mercedes is looking strong and so is their new star George Russell.
Russell’s hard work over the winter appears to be paying off as he puts in a lap of 1:21:039.
Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferarri make up the top three.
MAX VERSTAPPEN HITS 50
Verstappen has completed his 50th lap of the morning as the current world champion gets to grips with the new RB18.
George Russell currently holds the fastest lap time with a 1:21:039 in his Mercedes.
Verstappen is third on the time sheets with a time of 1:22:246.
Ferarri have split the two Mercedes with Leclerc clocking a time of 1:21:718.
ALL NEW ALFA ROMEO
Alfa Romeo welcome their new driver line up ahead of the new season after bringing in Valtteri Bottas from Mercedes and Chinese rookie Zhou Guanyu.
But this morning, neither of them are in the car as they’ve looked to experienced reserve driver Robert Kubica to pump in the miles in Barcelona.
Bottas is set to be in the car later this afternoon while Zhou will be stepping into the car on Thursday.
Hamilton sets the tone
LEWIS HAMILTON has been pictured peering into Red Bull’s garage on the first day of pre-season testing in Barcelona.
The seven-time British world champion was spotted in the pit-lane examining Red Bull’s car for the 2022 season.
Hamilton was eager to get a glimpse of the RB18 at the first opportunity at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
F1 calendar 2022
Here is how the season is set to shape up – with races starting in Bahrain in just under a month’s time.
Then races make their way to Europe in April, before arriving at Silverstone in July for the British Grand Prix.
🏁 F1 2022 calendar: practice times, dates and racetrack info
Good morning and welcome to F1 testing
Formula One testing is BACK underway in Barcelona ahead of what we hope will be another classic season.
There are new cars, new liveries and drivers suited and booted for their new teams for the first time.
But of course we’re expecting two familiar faces to go toe-to-toe for the F1 title this season.
Lewis Hamilton has arrived on the track, three months after one of the most controversial moments in the history of any sport.
The Brit is chasing his eighth world title, after being pipped by rival Max Verstappen in the last race of last season in Abu Dhabi.
That led to Michael Masi being relieved of his duties as race director and a cloud cast over the sport’s rules.
But one thing is for sure, a fast car will win you a race in Formula One and this is a crucial step in winning either a constructor’s or driver’s title – or ideally both.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
